Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group

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Recently Released
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- Food & Health In Washington DC
  
  In many areas, the D.C. food environment presents a serious health and wellness challenge to the city’s most vulnerable residents. This was demonstrated through a block-level study assessing the impact of the local D.C. food environment on public health by Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group. The study found that 88% of the over 520 food retailers are unhealthy “fringe” food retailers; only 12% are “mainstream”, terms coined by MG. Nearly 200,000 residents live on blocks where the closest healthy food retailer is 3 times farther or more than the closest fringe food retailer, creating a condition called “Food Imbalance” that MG also coined. For these residents, we found large and statistically significant negative health impacts with all diet-related diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The most alarming finding, however, concerns newborns. With individual data, we controlled for gestational age and the mother’s income, residence, education, age, alcohol and tobacco use, prenatal care, and marital status. What do you think we found? Download the fact sheet for a quick read, and the technical report for all the details.
  
  Downloads
  - Fact Sheet Download (2.1 MB)
  - Full Technical Report Download (13.0 MB)
  - New Map (not in Report) Download (411.8 KB)
  - Report Regressions (in an Excel format) Download (20.0 KB)
- Response to “Studies Question Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity” – New York Times, April 18, 2012, pp. A1 and A3
  
  The April 18th Times article on recent studies examining the link between “food deserts” and childhood obesity leaves the impression that food access does not matter in combating this epidemic. Our firm popularized the term “food desert” in the U.S. with the release of Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago (2006). We found strong relationships between the inaccessibility of nutritious food options and two crucial negative health outcomes: higher body mass index — a proxy for obesity — and an increased incidence of premature death by diabetes. We found similar results in other cities, as have many other researchers. The article gave an unbalanced portrait of the evidence to date, even failing to note the limitations noted by the authors of the studies described. Our issue is not with the two new studies; we thank the authors for their valuable contributions. Our issue is the reporter’s sloppy job of getting the facts straight. Some of this could have been settled by some simple Google searches. She muddied the water at best, misled at worst, and left the inaccurate impression that food access and the concept of food deserts does not matter. Does plopping down a grocery store instantly solve the obesity problem? No, but it’s a step in the right direction. Download the full PDF to get all the details.
  
  Downloads
  - Response to New York Times Article on Food Deserts & Obesity Download (129.8 KB)
- The Chicago 2011 Food Desert Drilldown, 5th Anniversary Edition – October 2011
  
  The full Drilldown provides never-before-released data and tables detailing the Food Desert population, as well as maps featuring community names, street identifiers, and aldermanic ward numbers. It also includes SNAP redemption figures and a message from Mari Gallagher that addresses the need to enforce current SNAP standards and raise them in the next Farm Bill. You might find a few surprises. But the SNAP Addendum goes farther. Its purpose is to help Chicago residents identify retail stores that are authorized to accept federal food assistance money, and to determine whether these vendors are — or are not — providing sufficient healthful food options to their customers. It lists SNAP retailers within a half-mile radius of 15 high-profile locations around Chicago including the homes of President Barack Obama and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the district offices of U.S. Representative Bobby Rush and State Senator Jacqueline Collins. It also discusses how responsibility for problems with SNAP does not simply fall on the shoulders of USDA officials, whose resources to monitor the program have dwindled, and who must enforce compliance rules set by Congress that impose questionable nutritional standards. There is also an update of the aggressive campaign led by Yum! Brands (which owns KFC and Taco Bell) to enter the SNAP program and why it was defeated. The theme of the Addendum is “democratization of data” and the ability of communities to inventory and assess their own local food environments.
  
  Downloads
  - Full report Download (3.0 MB)
  - SNAP Addendum PDF Download (2.5 MB)
- Food & Health in Hamilton County, Ohio – June 2011
  
  Food & Health is a technical report on conditions in Hamilton County, a 407 square mile area in Ohio that includes Cincinnati and 47 additional political jurisdictions. We quantified food access block-by-block and assessed its statistical link to diet-related health outcomes. The report provides data that can help formulate action plans and prioritize strategies. Details include the impact of the presence and absence of SNAP and other food stores on diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. We analyzed SNAP redemption patterns, Food Balance, and much more. Please FOLLOW DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS before attempting to open documents.
  
  Downloads
  - Executive Summary (14 pages) Download (1.0 MB)
  - Full Technical Report (79 pages) Download (10.8 MB)
  - Report Regressions (in an Excel format) Download (46.0 KB)
- Co-op Grocer Keynote, San Diego – now available
  
  Mari Gallagher was the keynote for the 55th annual Consumer Cooperative Management Association’s national conference, recently held at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, California. Her speech to 450 grocery co-op leaders from around the country was described as inspiring, informative, lively, and moving. Missed the keynote? Watch the video.
  
  Downloads
  - Keynote evaluations Download (98.7 KB)
- 2011 Philabundance Hunger Symposium Keynote, Philadelphia – now available
  
  Watch Mari’s Keynote. Listen to Mari, Philabundance Executive Director Bill Clark, and urban farmer Jade Walker on Marty Moss-Coane’s WHYY Radio show.
  
  Downloads
  - Pictures from the Funder Reception and Symposium Download (992.2 KB)
- The Chicago Food Desert Progress Report – June 2011
  
  Our original 2006 study, which included a statistical analysis linking the Food Desert to more diet-related death, was updated in 2008 (released in 2009), 2010, and now in 2011 (the document available below). The updates track the Food Desert boundaries and related demographic data. From 2010 to 2011, the Chicago Food Desert contracted from about 64 to 55 square miles and decreased its population 30%. Overall in the last five years, it saw a 39% reduction. But the Food Desert problem remains large. Its current population total (383,954) is equivalent to filling U.S. Cellular Field to capacity ten times. Said another way, the next time the Sox play to a sold-out crowd, consider that ten times that number of people on the west and south sides of the city live without adequate access to healthy foods and that they are more likely to die prematurely from diabetes at statistically significant rates controlling for other factors.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (545.1 KB)
- Updated Opinion on Loyola’s Chicago Walmart Report – February 2011
  
  MG was retained by Walmart to develop a Professional Opinion on a report entitled “The Impact of an Urban Walmart Store on Area Businesses: An interim-evaluation of one Chicago neighborhood’s experience” by authors Julie L. Davis, David F. Merriman, Lucia Samayoa, Brian Flanagan, Ron Baiman, and Joe Persky of the Center for Urban Research and Learning of Loyola University Chicago. Our first forty-four-page review (2008) and our second short review (2010) are available by scrolling down on our Projects section. THE DOCUMENT BELOW (February 2011) IS OUR THIRD REVIEW and is in response to Professor Merriman’s correspondence dated January 23, 2011.
  
  We emphasize that we are neither “pro” nor “anti” Wal-Mart but, rather, a neutral third-party research firm. We do not conduct advocacy or any type of political work.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (615.0 KB)
- Open Letter to the White House on USDA Food Stamp Retailers — January 2011
  
  There are two urgent problems with the current state of the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: 1) standards are too low and 2) many retailers are not in compliance with even those low standards. Read more about this issue in this concise briefing to the White House.
  
  Downloads
  - Open Letter to White House Regarding Food Stamp Program Download (78.2 KB)
- Chicago Foreclosures and the Food Desert – November 2010
  
  This special mapping report was commissioned by the Chicago Sun Times. How do food desert communities compare to “hot markets” and the rest of the city? Find out by downloading these easy-to-understand maps.
  
  Downloads
  - 2008 to 2009 Chicago Foreclosures & Food Desert Download (326.2 KB)
  - 2009 to 2010 Chicago Foreclosures & Food Desert Download (298.8 KB)
- Chicago Food Desert Update – August 2010
  
  Maps released August 2010 and full briefing released October 6th 2010 as part of a sold-out TED event focused on food and health. TED stands for technology, entertainment, and design and is the now world-famous speaker series promoting ideas worth spreading. Past speakers have included Al Gore and Bill Gates. Watch for a video of Mari Gallagher’s TED speech presented to a live audience of 400 attendees, which will be posted soon.
  
  Our 2010 Chicago Food Desert update reveals if food access conditions are remaining static, improving, or worsening. MG has provided a detailed analysis every two years to track the progress that is being made to eliminate the food desert (2006, 2008, and 2010 data).
  
  The following maps show updated Chicago Food Desert boundaries with special overlays such as community gardens, prioritized sites for grocers, and aldermanic wards.
  Read More
  
  Downloads
  - 2010 Chicago Food Desert Progress Report Download (591.0 KB)
  - 2010 MG Chicago Food Desert Boundaries Download (358.2 KB)
  - Chicago Food Desert & 6 Sites for Grocers Download (481.0 KB)
  - 2010 Food Desert & Community Gardens Download (258.4 KB)
  - Food Desert & Aldermanic Wards Download (433.2 KB)
- Examining The Impact of Food Deserts & Food Imbalance On Public Health In Birmingham, Alabama – August 2010
  
  In Birmingham, over 88,000 people live on blocks where mainstream grocers are distant (we call these areas Food Deserts) or where grocers are distant and unhealthy food is readily available (we call this condition Food Imbalance). In these areas, it is generally difficult to buy a first-rate apple, tomato, or green bean. Many venues instead specialize in candy, soda, chips, and fried food. In total, these problem Food Desert and Food Imbalance conditions comprise over 43 square miles. Of those affected, over 23,000 are children. Our study found statistically significant relationships to cancer and other diseases. Download the full report to learn more. BE SURE TO FIRST READ DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS on left. Thank you Main Street Birmingham for sponsoring this study. For more information on what Main Street Birmingham is doing on this issue, visit http://theurbanfoodproject.org/. We also thank: The Jefferson County Department of Health, The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Wachovia: A Wells Fargo Company, and the City of Birmingham.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (8.3 MB)
- TECHNICAL APPENDIX TO Examining The Impact of Food Deserts & Food Imbalance On Public Health In Birmingham, Alabama – August 2010
  
  This document provides regression results from the full study.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (639.5 KB)
- EXECUTIVE BROCHURE TO Examining The Impact of Food Deserts & Food Imbalance On Public Health In Birmingham, Alabama – August 2010
  
  This short fold-over brochure very briefly summarizes findings from the study. Please note that the document should be printed back-to-back. The first panel you will see is the back page, the second is the cover, and the final two are the inside pages.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (573.7 KB)
- From Food Desert to Food Oasis: Blueprint for Change in Chicago – August 2010
  
  Since our 2006 breakthrough study on Chicago Food Deserts, there has been a flurry of news on both the problem and potential solutions. Community groups, city officials, policy makers, and industry leaders have stepped up to take action. There is not one single cause of Food Deserts and not one single solution. Everyone can do something. But what would make Chicago’s 3 Food Deserts disappear entirely? To conduct this analysis, we must first analyze the potential improvement from providing healthy food access at the center of every single block in the city so that we can determine mathematically the smallest combination of improvements (in this case, new mainstream grocery stores) that would achieve that final result. The purpose of this report is to present the findings of the Wal-Mart-commissioned study and the new grocer locations collectively required to eliminate Chicago’s Food Deserts. The report includes an updated boundary of the Food Desert with retail data current as of May of 2010. Is your Chicago neighborhood in or out of the Food Desert? Read our report to find out!
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (656.4 KB)
- Food Desert & Food Balance Community Fact Sheet – June 2010
  
  Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group and Save-A-Lot Food Stores have joined forces to raise awareness of the plight of millions of families in the United States who live in food deserts — large geographic areas with very few, if any, grocery stores. The Food Desert & Food Balance Community Fact Sheet, authored by Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting and supported by the hard discount food retailer, explains in-depth the problem so many Americans face today and the health consequences for those who live in food deserts. The 14-page report contains beautiful illustrations that bring the metrics and definitions to life. This is a must-read for anyone working on a local food assessment or interested in studying and improving community health. The Fact Sheet includes an introductory letter from Save-A-Lot President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Shaner. He cited MG research as a compelling motivator to expand from 1,200 stores to 2,400 stores over the next five years. Be kind to the environment: instead of photocopying, share the link. A limited number of copies were printed with union labor from a Women Business Enterprise using toxin-free, petroleum-free, 100% natural materials.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (3.4 MB)
- The Peapod & Neighbor Capital Healthy Families Project: Special Briefing For Chicago Lawn Community Forum – June 2010
  
  As First Lady and former Peapod customer Michelle Obama tells us, we all need to “move” on the important issue of reducing obesity and expanding healthy food for children. Our combined “movement” through the Healthy Families Project includes many exciting new actions that we believe will support health and wellness among vulnerable children in all of Chicago and specifically in the Chicago Lawn community. The purpose of this briefing is to provide an update on our progress and to share new maps and research findings. The thirteen-page report details how Peapod expanded into the Food Desert, partnered with Neighbor Capital in providing a “Best Fruit of the Season” offering at a discounted price of $2.99, subsidized by Peapod, and held a community forum to raise awareness.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (3.8 MB)
- The Peapod & Neighbor Capital Healthy Families Community Forum Powerpoint in Spanish & English – Presented in June and released in August 2010
  
  See what parents, children, teachers, and community leaders learned at a community forum held at Tarkington Elementary School in Chicago about Peapod, Neighbor Capital, Food Deserts, and new healthy food product lines now offered locally.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (12.9 MB)
- The Peapod Neighbor Capital Healthy Families Project Analysis – March 2010
  
  In autumn of 2009, Peapod and Neighbor Capital began to strategize on solutions for Chicago’s Food Desert communities. Later that year, Peapod retained Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group to complement and enhance the impact of their Healthy Families collaboration through robust empirical analysis. We conducted a block-level study to identify the greatest at-risk families in the Food Desert who might be suffering now or in the future from obesity, diabetes and other diet-related conditions. Learn where the top 100 blocks are located that – if additional mainstream food solutions are provided – would likely 1) reduce diabetes overall, 2) positively impact the greatest number of children, and 3) positively impact the greatest population overall.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (1.6 MB)
- Ticket to Ride: A Needs Assessment for ITNChicago – January 2010
  
  The MG team was retained to conduct a needs assessment for the newly created Independent Transportation Network of Chicago (ITNChicago), which started in Maine to encourage seniors who can no longer drive safely to trade in their cars and receive rides instead from volunteers. The success of the initiative led to the development of independent but affiliated branches in other parts of the country. Local Chicago leaders were inspired to launch a similar program in Chicago. As a result, ITNChicago was born. The report includes strategic maps and data work, key informant interviews, a senior survey, an assessment of competing services and program viability, and other deliverables. The survey was conducted in a participatory fashion with ITNChicago staff. Our sincere gratitude to our sponsor, ITNChicago, to our funder, Chicago Community Trust, and to the many others who contributed to this work. To all of you working on programs to help seniors in need, we invite you to use the information, data, maps, survey and other instruments found in this report freely in your own work and research. This 214-page document is VERY LARGE. As is the case with all of our reports, please do not attempt to open within your email program. See the side panel of this page for download instructions.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (10.3 MB)
- Addendum to Ticket To Ride – April 2010
  
  This is an Addendum to a report entitled “Senior Ticket to Ride: A Needs Assessment for ITNChicago.” Its purpose is to assess the interests and needs of homebound seniors, particularly immigrant and non-immigrant Latinos living in ITN’s target Zip Codes. The work was done in a participatory fashion with ITNChicago and its key board leader, City of Chicago representative Joyce Gallagher, and members of her staff at the Department of Aging, who conducted a shortened phone survey. MG data entered the survey and conducted the analysis.
  
  Joyce Gallagher (who is no relation to Mari Gallagher) stated: “It is wonderful to work with a consultant who can work through issues with you and goes beyond a predetermined scope to arrive at a goal.”
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (262.1 KB)
- Updated Opinion on Loyola’s Chicago Wal-Mart Report – January 2010
  
  MG was retained by Wal-Mart to develop a Professional Opinion on a report entitled The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses: An interim-evaluation of one Chicago neighborhood’s experience by authors Julie L. Davis, David F. Merriman, Lucia Samayoa, Brian Flanagan, Ron Baiman, and Joe Persky of the Center for Urban Research and Learning of Loyola University Chicago. The version available for this review was marked “last revised April 15, 2008.” The original forty-four page MG opinion of the 2008 Loyola report is available by scrolling down on our Projects section.
  
  Loyola recently provided an update to their 2008 report with a similar title and the date of December 2009. MG was retained again by Wal-Mart to provide a brief summarized update of our Opinion of this second 2009 Loyola report (this document).
  
  We emphasize that we are neither “pro” nor “anti” Wal-Mart but, rather, a neutral third-party research firm. We do not conduct advocacy or any type of political work.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (825.3 KB)
- New Day in the Garden: A Food Desert & Food Balance Analysis in Savannah, Georgia – October 2009
  
  Established in 1733, Savannah is known as America’s first planned city. Early in its history, farmers discovered that the climate and soil were favorable to the cultivation of cotton, rice, and lush backyard gardens full of great varieties of nutrient-rich produce. But similar to what has happened in other places across America, local residents over time became more and more disenfranchised from locally produced Good Food. View our findings and the recommended action steps for improving food and health in the city famous for its seascape port and “Midnight in the Garden” character. Find out if local crab shacks are part of the USDA Food Stamp retailer program. Check out our new “Food Balance” imagery inspired by this part of the historic South and the famous “Bird Girl” statue. See how our new street-level maps bring otherwise turgid research to life. These maps are helping community groups, city planners, zoning officials and others improve walkable and drivable pathways to mainstream food providers. This is a LARGE document. As is the case with all of our reports, please do not attempt to open within your email program. See the side panel of this page for download instructions.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (1.7 MB)
- Boston Food Desert Forum Survey Report – September 2009
  
  September is National Food Desert Awareness Month! To highlight issues relevant to food deserts we are releasing responses from a spring 2009 food desert survey conducted in concert with a forum held last spring at MIT: From Food Desert to Food Oasis.
  
  The report has been sponsored and produced by the following partners: MIT, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Society Human Development and Health, Northeastern University, Institute on Urban Health Research, Interdisciplinary Consortium on Urban Planning and Public Health, the National Center for Public Research, and Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group. Special thanks to Dr. Lindsay Rosenfeld for her exceptional contributions and commitment to this ongoing body of work. The partners also thank everyone who participated in this survey. We are pleased to share these results and we look forward to future collaboration.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (512.3 KB)
- MIT / Harvard Project: Statewide Massachusetts Map of Farmers Markets - August 2009
  
  MG was recently retained by Harvard and MIT to support the planning and execution of a public forum and present on Food Deserts and Food Balance. Planning and health professors at these highly esteemed institutions use MG studies as required class readings. “We were thrilled to have Mari participate in our 2009 spring seminar series entitled Towards a more equal geography of opportunity for children: The roles of Urban Planning and Public Health. Mari’s work is well-known and respected among academics and community leaders, and, importantly, it is used in academic programs to teach newly-emerging researchers and professionals how to think about issues of health disparities,” said Dr. Lindsay Rosenfeld, who has a joint appointment as a MIT/Harvard Research Fellow. The forum attracted about 100 participants from around Massachusetts and nearby states.
  
  As part of the Harvard/MIT project, MG developed this statewide Massachusetts map of farmers markets with assistance from colleagues at the USDA. Watch for additional project postings coming soon.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (253.6 KB)
- Chicago 2009 Food Desert Progress Report – released June 2009
  
  In 2006, our firm released Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago, a breakthrough study that identified over 600,000 Chicagoans who live in a Food Desert, a large geographic area with no or distant mainstream grocery stores. The report demonstrated statistically significant relationships between food access and diet-related disease and premature death. Three years later, has the Chicago Food Desert expanded, contracted, or remained stable? Read the report and find out! Also check out our new metric: Years of Potential Life Gain. For example, if a grocery store is developed at 115th Street and Michigan Avenue, in Chicago’s Roseland community, it will impact roughly 24,000 people with improved food access scores. Holding other key contributors constant, the community as a whole will likely gain approximately 15 additional years of life back from diabetes, 58 years of life back from diet-related cancers, 112 years of life back from cardiovascular diseases, and 13 years of life back from liver disease. Predicting the level to which new grocery store development would contribute to additional life gained due to the grocer’s presence, rather than life lost due to its absence, as we did in our original report, is only one of several of our new and exciting methodological advances. This report provides all these details, a Foreword written by the Urban Institute’s Peter Tatian, and much, much more.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (4.0 MB)
- Violent Deaths of Chicago Public School Children by our “Deck-Stacked-Against-You” Indicator - March 20, 2009
  
  Earlier this year, local gangs set an apartment fire to punish their rivals, killing a seven-year-old girl named Itzel and her pregnant mother by mistake instead. Roughly 30 public school children have died violently since the start of the school year. View this new map of locations of these deaths with our new “deck-stacked-against-you” indicator that shows Chicago tracts with the highest concentration of African Americans, Latinos, burdened mortgage holders, high school dropouts, and lowest household incomes. Does where you live impact quality and length of life, and quality and cause of death? It certainly does.
  
  Downloads
  - Download March 20th map Download (127.4 KB)
  - Download map updated March 28th Download (193.6 KB)
- Professional Opinion of a Recent Study by the Center for Urban Research and Learning of Loyola University Chicago Concerning the Impact of Chicago’s West Side Wal-Mart – Finalized June 2008, released Dec. 2008
  
  Our firm was retained by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to develop a Professional Opinion on a report entitled The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses: An interim-evaluation of one Chicago neighborhood’s experience by the Center for Urban Research and Learning of Loyola University Chicago (the Loyola report). The MG Opinion is organized into two key sections: 1) a review of the Loyola report and 2) a preliminary assessment of alternative data, methods, and analysis that, moving forward, might inform the important question of Wal-Mart’s potential impacts – whether positive, negative, or neutral – on the local business, economic development, and community development climate in Chicago and particularly in the Austin neighborhood. The Loyola report concludes that the Chicago Wal-Mart has already negatively impacted the local economic and business climate around the store. Based on our review of Loyola’s analysis and our own cursory data work, we found that the Loyola study is flawed and that there is no clear-cut evidence of any Wal-Mart impact either way. We emphasize that we are neither “pro” nor “anti” Wal-Mart but, rather, a neutral third-party research firm committed to unbiased and truthful data, methods, analysis and reporting.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (2.7 MB)
Food Deserts and Public Health
- Chicago Identifies 6 Priority Sites for Grocers – September 2008
  
  This is a must-read analysis for anyone interested in how to use neutral data, information, and statistical methods to prioritize government incentives, resources and energy. Learn how we worked with the City of Chicago to help commercial planners prioritize 6 key sites for grocery stores based on need, public health impact, market strategy, and other factors. In our past work we have predicted Years of Potential Life Loss (YPLL). Now we are working on the reverse: Years of Potential Life GAIN. Smart move, City of Chicago. It’s good for public health, good for taxpayers, good for efficiency, good for grocers, good for neighborhood markets, and good for community. This is a ground-breaking example of what other cities, suburbs and rural areas across the US can do. Give us a call to learn how we can help you.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (129.2 KB)
- Richmond, Virginia, Children’s Diabetes Risk Assessment Launched – April 2008
  
  Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes) affects more than 20 million U.S. residents and is the most common form of the disease. However, because diabetes exhibits few, if any, symptoms until its advanced stages, millions more are unaware that they are in danger of developing the disease. When blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be classified as diabetes, a condition known as pre-diabetes exists. If discovered early, a person with pre-diabetes can avoid the disease through education, diet, exercise and appropriately prescribed medications. RediClinic LLC, BIOSAFE Laboratories, Inc., and Glycemion have partnered with Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group and the National Center for Public Research in the provision of free diabetes screenings to school age children in Richmond, Virginia to help identify diabetic and pre-diabetic children and adolescents. Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group has conducted extensive research on the identification of and solution to the Food Desert and its link to diabetes. MG defines Food Deserts as large or isolated geographical area with limited, or no, access to mainstream grocery stores. “This is a wonderful example of direct action being taken by business and science in response to our research. Most importantly, children and the communities they live in will benefit greatly from this effort,” said Mari Gallagher, president of NCPR and Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group.
  
  Downloads
  - Download Full Diabetes Risk Assessment Announcement PDF Download (196.8 KB)
- The National Center for Public Research (NCPR) Declares September National Food Desert Awareness Month
  
  September is the month to showcase what you, your community, your school, your church, or your business are doing to promote solutions that improve food access, wellness, and quality of life. Read the full announcement along with other new MG downloads on how consumers tend to rely on the food stores to which they have the most access, even if for health or other reasons, they prefer or require other types of foods. We call this The Convenience Food Factor © – a new, emerging body of MG work which links the influence of geographic access on food purchasing decisions. We find it can impact many different types of households, including higher income households with cars, although it likely has the greatest impact on poorer households without cars.
  
  Downloads
  - National Food Desert Month PDF Download (148.1 KB)
  - MG Food Desert Definitions PDF Download (81.5 KB)
  - Food Desert Field Photos Storyboard PDF Download (2.2 MB)
  - The Convenience Food Factor Storyboard PDF Download (983.8 KB)
  - Food Desert Description and Good Food Pledge front page Download (124.0 KB)
  - Good Food Pledge back page Download (137.9 KB)
  - Chicago Tribune Food Desert Rally Coverage Sept 1 08 Download (232.8 KB)
  - Food Desert and Food Balance Indicator Fact Sheet Download (32.8 KB)
- The Potential Impacts of a Wal-Mart Supercenter [At 83rd & Stewart in Chicago, Illinois] on Grocer Agglomeration, Food Deserts, Food Balance, and Public Health – February 2008
  
  This 46-page Professional Opinion quantifies the block-by-block food access impact that the proposed Wal-Mart would have if it opens at that site. It also quantifies the impact of nearby grocers that have recently opened or closed. Retail agglomeration and new neighborhood market frameworks and measures are introduced, such as the Snowball Index and Snowball Effect, which explain why retail attracts retail and like attracts like. The work is a must-read for anyone interested in the complicated and interwoven dynamics of today’s commercial shopping districts.
  
  Downloads
  - Download Professional Opinion of a Wal-Mart Supercenter at 83rd & Stewart in Chicago, Illinois PDF Download (3.2 MB)
- The Courier-Journal Food Access Briefing for Louisville, Kentucky – November 2007
  
  This briefing examines food access for roughly 10,000 blocks in Central Louisville.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (226.9 KB)
- Louisville Storyboard
  
  If you don’t have time to read the full Louisville report, view this one-page storyboard and map.
  
  Downloads
  - Louisville Food Balance Storyboard PDF Download (317.0 KB)
- Chicago Sun Times Briefing on USDA Food Stamp Liquor Stores – November 2007
  
  This briefing examines USDA Food Stamp retailers named as “medium grocer” or another label in the government data that are likely instead to be liquor stores. Full briefing available on November 9, 2007
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (1.1 MB)
- Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in DETROIT - June 19, 2007
  
  “This report ought to serve as a wake-up call, and my guess is that it will. It documents a serious problem clearly and forcefully. It is much harder now to avoid the conclusion that action to address it in Detroit warrants a high priority.” These are the opening words of Thomas Kingsley of the Urban Institute who wrote the foreword to Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Detroit, by Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group.
  Read More
  
  Downloads
  - Full Report Download (1.9 MB)
  - Full Executive Briefing Download (364.0 KB)
  - Pages 1-4 Only Download (349.3 KB)
  - Pages 5-8 Only Download (396.5 KB)
  - Pages 9-12 Only Download (1.3 MB)
  - Pages 13-16 Only Download (989.3 KB)
- Detroit Project Technical Appendix - June 19, 2007
  
  This document is a companion to Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in DETROIT and is a must-read for anyone interested in exciting new methodologies concerning food deserts and public health. Mari Gallagher discusses her group’s new methodology to tract the public health impact of community development and market investment. Additional tables and maps can also be found which are not in the main briefing, as well as more methodological details. Read More
  
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  - Full Report Download (1.1 MB)
  - Author’s Comments & Acknowledgements Only Download (272.0 KB)
  - Methodology Only Download (377.7 KB)
  - Additional Tables Only Download (206.8 KB)
  - Additional Maps Only Download (282.6 KB)
  - Next Steps in our Food Desert Work & Additional Reading Only Download (622.9 KB)
- Detroit Stranded in the Food Desert Forum Program - June 19, 2007
  
  The program description details an event sponsored by LaSalle Bank and Detroit LISC to review the findings of Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Detroit by Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group.
  
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- The Detroit Community Storyboard © Series on Food Deserts: Why it Matters and What Communities Can Do – March 10, 2008
  
  The reproduction of MG analysis into these 10 Community Storyboards © was made possible by the Kellogg Foundation, the Skillman Foundation, the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and the Good Neighborhoods Initiative. Do you live in a Food Desert? While the focus of these Storyboards is on Detroit, each provides concrete examples of what you and your own good neighbors can do in your own community. Community Storyboards and Storyboards are copyrighted MG products that are “leave behinds” for ongoing community use. They help jump start local planning and action. Call us for more information.
  
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  - #1 Definitions Storyboard Download (357.3 KB)
  - #2 Mainstream and fringe food Storyboard Download (447.6 KB)
  - #3 USDA Food Stamp retailers in Detroit Storyboard Download (379.3 KB)
  - #4 Detroit Food Balance Map Storyboard Download (986.7 KB)
  - #5 Women and Children Last in Detroit Storyboard Download (532.8 KB)
  - #6 YPLL and YPLG Storyboard Download (377.1 KB)
  - #7 Snowball Effect Storyboard Download (375.4 KB)
  - #8 Metro Detroit and Detroit Storyboard Download (389.1 KB)
  - #9 Opportunities to Improve Corner Stores Storyboard Download (389.2 KB)
  - #10 Every Project Matters Storyboard Download (523.0 KB)
- Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in CHICAGO - July 18, 2006
  
  In 1923, long before the rise of McDonald’s golden arches, an advertisement for beef made this proclamation in the Bridgeport Telegraph: “Ninety percent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat.” The phrase you are what you eat actually dates back to the 17th century. Over time, science has repeatedly demonstrated that nutritional intake directly affects health outcomes. That we are what we eat is a medical fact. But to what degree does what we eat and, thus, our health, depend on where we live and the types of food we have access to? Read More
  
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  - Full Report Download (1.3 MB)
  - Foreword & Executive Summary Only Download (432.3 KB)
  - Methodology & Data Development Only Download (206.2 KB)
  - Findings Only Download (904.8 KB)
  - Conclusions, Acknowledgements & Bibliography Only Download (231.0 KB)
- LaSalle Bank Chicago Food Desert 4-Page Brochure - July 18, 2006
  
  This is a helpful summary of our Chicago Food Desert study prepared by our sponsor, LaSalle Bank.
  
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- Chicago Women and Children Last in the Food Desert - July 18, 2006
  
  Chicago has roughly 500,000 people who live in the food desert, a place with no or distant grocery stores, but nearby fast food options. Read More
  
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- Chicago’s Most Out-of-Balance Tracts
  
  This very short briefing begins with our foundational premise that the health and vitality of urban communities is a block-by-block phenomenon. Our first task is to measure the distance from every City of Chicago block to the nearest grocery store and fast food restaurant. Next, we develop an empirical score to quantify the balance of food choice available to residents. Finally, we compare food access and food balance directly to health outcomes, holding constant education, income, and race. Read More
  
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- Chicago Food Desert Poverty Concentration
  
  The briefing and map shows the outline of the Chicago Food Desert and highest concentration of poverty.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (536.7 KB)
- Chicago Food Desert and Car Ownership
  
  The briefing and map shows the outline of the Chicago Food Desert and lowest concentration of household that own automobiles.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (223.3 KB)
- Chicago Children & Diabetes Storyboard PDF
  
  More and more children are getting adult-level diseases such as diabetes. Does place matter?
  
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  - Download PDF Download (258.0 KB)
- Chicago Diabetes YPLL Storyboard PDF
  
  Majority African American and majority White communities that have out-of-balance food environments will have higher rates of residents dying prematurely from diabetes that are statistically significant, controlling for income, education, and race. African American communities will be the most likely to experience the greatest total years of life lost from diabetes as a result.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (156.5 KB)
- Chicago Diet-Related Deaths Storyboard PDF
  
  We analyzed 226 tracts with at least 20 deaths each from diet-related causes per tract for year 2003. Of those 226 tracts, 100 are majority White and 97 and majority African American. Those aggregate numbers were large enough to analyze White and African American tracts further, controlling for race and other influencers, by sorting them by first by race and second by food balance, then splitting them at the median.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (222.9 KB)
- Chicago Obesity in Chicago Storyboard PDF
  
  Our Study, Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago, included a robust, albeit self-reported, sample of height and weight from driver’s license records by Zip Code. Height and weight, included in those records, allows the calculation of body mass index (BMI), an accepted measure for obesity. The data are grouped into tertiles (thirds). The map shows a striking clustering pattern: Chicago’s North and Northwest sides have the lowest rates of BMI and the West and South sides have the highest rates of BMI.
  
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- Cancer and CVD in Food Desert Storyboard PDF
  
  Premature death due to cancer and cardiovascular disease is also greater for African American, White, and Latino communities where there is greater imbalance of food choices. While these effects are not statistically significant, the pattern repeats itself in nearly every instance of analysis: as communities become more out-of-balance in terms of food choices, diet-related deaths and premature death increase.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (160.4 KB)
- Chicago Food Desert Report Cover and Description Storyboard PDF
  
  In 1923, long before the rise of McDonald’s golden arches, an advertisement for beef made this proclamation in the Bridgeport Telegraph: “Ninety percent of the diseases known to man are caused by cheap foodstuffs. You are what you eat.” The phrase you are what you eat actually dates back to the 17th century. Over time, science has repeatedly demonstrated that nutritional intake directly affects health outcomes. That we are what we eat is a medical fact. But to what degree does what we eat and, thus, our health, depend on where we live and the types of food we have access to?
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (239.9 KB)
- Metro Chicago Food Stamp Retailers Storyboard PDF
  
  This storyboard includes tables of our recoding of USDA Food Stamp retailers for Metro Chicago.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (98.0 KB)
- Chicago Food Desert by 50K Household Income and More
  
  There are 3 food deserts in Chicago comprising a half million residents and 203,369 households. But not everyone who lives in the food desert is poor. Read More
  
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  - Download PDF Download (163.3 KB)
- Untapped Opportunities for Chicago Grocers
  
  This is a baseline map that grocers and other market actors have found helpful.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (555.1 KB)
- Chicago Grocer Access Task Force Recommendations
  
  This document outlines recommended steps for Chicago to improve food access. The Task Force was formed in response to Mari Gallagher’s work.
  
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  - Download PDF Download (134.9 KB)
Other Projects
- Analysis on Central Iowa Mortgage and Rent Burden Patterns – January 3, 2008
  
  The PowerPoint, maps, and tables address home mortgage burden, rent burden and foreclosures in Central Iowa and how employer assisted housing can help address the issue.
  
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  - Des Moines Housing Presentation PDF Download (2.8 MB)
  - Map of Home Owner Burden Central Iowa PDF Download (180.8 KB)
  - Map of Rental Burden Central Iowa PDF Download (168.8 KB)
  - Single Family Home Burden Tables PDF Download (112.1 KB)
  - Rental Burden Tables PDF Download (113.4 KB)
- Show Me The Money!
  
  The Center for Economic Progress and Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group release Show Me the Money! The report is an assessment of the Center’s Financial Empowerment Project. Working closely with the North Side Community Federal Credit Union, the Project recruits local employers to participate in programs that help their lower wage workers achieve financial health and stability. Read More
  
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  - Download PDF Download (112.4 KB)
- Illinois Income and Asset Poverty Maps
  
  Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group, in partnership with IABG and the Asset Policy Initiative of California, developed income and asset poverty maps of Illinois by county cluster.
  View the maps at: www.povertylaw.org
- Helping the Undocumented Achieve the American Dream – Next American City - Jan. 1, 2006
  
  Juan Rodriguez is 38 years old and has worked in a factory since he arrived in the United States eight years ago. His wife, Maria, 34, followed him to the United States five years later. Together they have four children – one born in Mexico and three born in the Chicago area, where they now live. They stayed with family members in Chicago at first, but a job promotion allowed Juan and Maria to save. As city living grew more expensive, the family bought a small house in Cicero, a suburb closer to Juan’s job. So far this sounds like the typical American dream: work hard, save, move to the suburbs, buy a house and live happily ever after. But what’s different about the Rodriguez family is that neither Juan nor Maria resides or works in the United States legally. Read More
  Read full story
- Alternative IDs, ITIN Mortgages,and Emerging Latino Markets - March 6, 2005
  
  Read how banks are advancing ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Numbers) mortgages to help undocumented Mexicans buy homes.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (884.4 KB)
- Trends Impacting Latinos in the Workplace – December 6, 2007
  
  This PowerPoint was presented at the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation’s Annual Summit.
  
  Downloads
  - Download Latino Caucus Presentation Download (102.5 KB)
- Merging the Two Sides: Community Needs and Market Opportunities - June 1, 2004
  
  This is one of many articles Mari Gallagher wrote for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago journal.
  Read More Here
- Finding the Intersection Between Compliance and New Markets
  
  This is one of many articles Mari Gallagher wrote for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago journal.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (213.8 KB)
- Inside Game, Outside Game: Winning Strategies for Saving Urban America
  
  This is a review by Mari Gallagher on David Rusk’s provocative book critiquing community development practices.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (580.9 KB)
- Below The Radar Mexican Housing Market - June 18, 2007
  
  Read how banks are advancing ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Numbers) mortgages to help undocumented Mexicans buy homes.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (93.4 KB)
- Neighborhood Recovery: Reinvestment Policy for the New Hometown
  
  This is a review by Mari Gallagher on an interesting historical account of housing development practice and policy in Philadelphia.
  
  Downloads
  - Download PDF Download (222.5 KB)

Recently Released (Keep scrolling down for other content areas)

Food & Health In Washington DC

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Response to “Studies Question Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity” – New York Times, April 18, 2012, pp. A1 and A3

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The Chicago 2011 Food Desert Drilldown, 5th Anniversary Edition – October 2011

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Food & Health in Hamilton County, Ohio – June 2011

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Co-op Grocer Keynote, San Diego – now available

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2011 Philabundance Hunger Symposium Keynote, Philadelphia – now available

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The Chicago Food Desert Progress Report – June 2011

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Updated Opinion on Loyola’s Chicago Walmart Report – February 2011

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Open Letter to the White House on USDA Food Stamp Retailers — January 2011

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Chicago Foreclosures and the Food Desert – November 2010

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Chicago Food Desert Update – August 2010

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Examining The Impact of Food Deserts & Food Imbalance On Public Health In Birmingham, Alabama – August 2010

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TECHNICAL APPENDIX TO Examining The Impact of Food Deserts & Food Imbalance On Public Health In Birmingham, Alabama – August 2010

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EXECUTIVE BROCHURE TO Examining The Impact of Food Deserts & Food Imbalance On Public Health In Birmingham, Alabama – August 2010

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From Food Desert to Food Oasis: Blueprint for Change in Chicago – August 2010

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Food Desert & Food Balance Community Fact Sheet – June 2010

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The Peapod & Neighbor Capital Healthy Families Project: Special Briefing For Chicago Lawn Community Forum – June 2010

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The Peapod & Neighbor Capital Healthy Families Community Forum Powerpoint in Spanish & English – Presented in June and released in August 2010

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The Peapod Neighbor Capital Healthy Families Project Analysis – March 2010

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Ticket to Ride: A Needs Assessment for ITNChicago – January 2010

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Addendum to Ticket To Ride – April 2010

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Updated Opinion on Loyola’s Chicago Wal-Mart Report – January 2010

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New Day in the Garden: A Food Desert & Food Balance Analysis in Savannah, Georgia – October 2009

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Boston Food Desert Forum Survey Report – September 2009

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MIT / Harvard Project: Statewide Massachusetts Map of Farmers Markets - August 2009

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Chicago 2009 Food Desert Progress Report – released June 2009

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Violent Deaths of Chicago Public School Children by our “Deck-Stacked-Against-You” Indicator - March 20, 2009

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Professional Opinion of a Recent Study by the Center for Urban Research and Learning of Loyola University Chicago Concerning the Impact of Chicago’s West Side Wal-Mart – Finalized June 2008, released Dec. 2008

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Food Deserts and Public Health

Chicago Identifies 6 Priority Sites for Grocers – September 2008

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Richmond, Virginia, Children’s Diabetes Risk Assessment Launched – April 2008

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The National Center for Public Research (NCPR) Declares September National Food Desert Awareness Month

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The Potential Impacts of a Wal-Mart Supercenter [At 83rd & Stewart in Chicago, Illinois] on Grocer Agglomeration, Food Deserts, Food Balance, and Public Health – February 2008

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The Courier-Journal Food Access Briefing for Louisville, Kentucky – November 2007

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Louisville Storyboard

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Chicago Sun Times Briefing on USDA Food Stamp Liquor Stores – November 2007

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Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in DETROIT - June 19, 2007

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Detroit Project Technical Appendix - June 19, 2007

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Detroit Stranded in the Food Desert Forum Program - June 19, 2007

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The Detroit Community Storyboard © Series on Food Deserts: Why it Matters and What Communities Can Do – March 10, 2008

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Recently Released
(Keep scrolling down for other content areas)